Christmas break: the end-goal every college student looks forward to during the entire fall semester. The reason? A month-long vacation away from academic stress. Students are blessed with a few weeks free from bottomless piles of homework and hours of somewhat productive study sessions. Most students return to their hometowns and families to spend the holiday season, returning to their old high school stomping grounds and reuniting with old friends they haven’t seen in awhile. Whether some of us are excited to be back under our parents’ roofs briefly, enjoying the comforts of home, or counting down the days until spring semester begins back at our universities, we all experience various stages of Christmas break.

Stage One: Delirious excitement and joy. After the frightening horrors of finals week are all said and done, college students usually experience a mental state of nirvana, similar to what I imagine it's like to be high on various forms of recreational drugs. Students realize they no longer have to spend their days eating cardboard cafeteria food and studying until their brains ache; a month-long vacation is ahead of them, complete with days that consist of nothing but sleeping, wholesome home-cooked meals, and precious quality time spent with family and friends that they haven’t seen in forever.

Stage Two: Unwavering laziness. College students are known for suffering through sleep deprivation for months at a time in the semester, so it’s no suprise that when they do get the chance to sleep in, they might go a bit overboard. They may lay around the house, eat junk food or munch on those holiday treats in the kitchen, and they may sleep in long enough to miss two of the three meal times in a day.

Stage Three: Cabin fever sets in. After staying cooped up indoors for awhile after coming home from school, most college students are itching to get out of the house and do something — well anything, really. They’ll make plans for coffee dates to catch up with friends, attend some parties with old highschool pals, and even go to the movies with their siblings to see the latest blockbuster. Anything to keep ourselves from going stir-crazy.

Stage Four: Longing for the college lifestyle. One can only watch so many heartwarming Christmas movies and visit with only so many friendly and familiar faces before one longs for the independence of college life. Not to mention, college students will begin to experience some serious separation anxiety from their roommates and close friends at college.

Stage Five: The painful reality of the impending semester hits. Of course we want to go back to college for certain (mostly social) reasons, but all college students usually also are hit with a wall of panic as the realization sets in that with the start of spring semester also will come with new classes, more homework, and hours of studying. Whoop-de-do.

Stage Six: Packing up and heading back to school. Packing up our stuff again after spending a month away from school isn't an easy task whatsoever. Some college students may have entirely unpacked, while others may have been living out of their suitcases for the entirety of Christmas break. Regardless, it always stinks to have to load up all the stuff we'll need again for next semester, especially when we get that unsettling sensation that we’re forgetting something important…

Stage Seven: Acceptance. Half of college students seem to be excited for the fresh spring semester to commence, while the other half is usually in denial that Christmas vacation is over. Either way, January will come and college students will start their learning again at some point. Whether with bitterness or happiness in their hearts and heads, all college students must accept that Christmas break will eventually come to a close. We all must pack away the lack of motivation and inclination to sleep in until noon everyday until we can bring it out again when May rolls around and we’re free temporarily from the grips of academia.